Then, seeing that no one was around, he quickly swapped Zishu's slowly eating wontons with his own empty bowl, and then continued eating leisurely.

Seeing this, Xiu Qiyu silently pushed the bowl of wontons in front of her towards Ye Xiruo: "Here, have some."

"I ordered this for you guys, so please don't let my good intentions go to waste. Look at Senior Brother, he's already finished two bowls so quickly." Ye Xiruo didn't care at all about letting Senior Brother take the blame.

"What about the two bowls we took? If Second Brother comes out of seclusion, we'll celebrate. If he's still in seclusion, we'll offer them to Master as a tribute."

"Good idea."

Zishu, who was inexplicably shot, asked, "Have you considered my feelings?"

"Please take care, sir." The old woman's smile became even brighter because of Ye Xiruo's generous tip.

The trio ate and drank until they were stuffed, with Ye Xiruo and Zishu's eyes constantly wandering over the various food stalls. If they saw something they wanted to eat, they bought it and put it in their spatial rings. Time was frozen in those rings, so they could take it out and eat it whenever they wanted—it was incredibly convenient.

In contrast, Xiu Qiyu was very reserved, perfectly embodying the truth that cultivators do not value gluttony.

After buying so much stuff, Ye Xiruo and Zishu finally took a break.

"Why are there so many people up ahead? Let's go take a look!" Ye Xiruo, with a candied hawthorn in her mouth, pulled Xiu Qiyu and rushed into the crowd.

"Hey sir, what's going on here? Why are so many people gathered around?"

"This is a competition between alchemists hosted by Boss Bai of Baicaotang. The winner will receive a generous reward. Many people have signed up."

"Thank you, brother."

"That sounds interesting, Senior Brother, do you want to go?"

Zishu, who was busy gnawing on a chicken leg, waved his hand to indicate that he was too busy.

"In that case, I'm going to go up there and wreak havoc."

Many people around scoffed at Ye Xiruo's words. Ye Xiruo was far too young, and her aura was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. With such meager strength, she dared to dream of slaughtering everyone? Wasn't that a joke?

"Then I'll wait and see Little Yezi dominate the battlefield," Xiu Qiyu said with a slight smile.

Ye Xiruo quickly registered and had a small wooden tag in her hand with the number 117 written on it, which was probably a serial number.

"The first round of the competition is about to begin. All registered alchemists, please come to the stage."

The platform was about five meters high, and those below could hardly see it unless they possessed profound skills. Thus, all sorts of flying magical artifacts and flying spirit pets made their appearance.

There were about 500 people on the platform. Most of the participants were independent cultivators, and people like Zishu would never bother to go up and bully the younger generation.

Ye Xiruo stood in the back row, in front of her was a neatly arranged exam paper. Yes, it was an exam paper.

Fill-in-the-blank questions, true/false questions, error correction questions, and short answer questions. Ye Xiruo flipped through them and thought, "Wow, the question types are quite comprehensive."

That's right, the first round was a terrible written test. Ye Xiruo bit her pen and wrote at lightning speed. Having already memorized the "Compendium of All Medicines," the questions were surprisingly easy for her.

Soon, Ye Xiruo finished all the questions except for the easy ones. Then came the easy ones. Interesting! They asked her to complete an incomplete prescription and explain how to care for the medicinal herbs—a whole bunch of miscellaneous things. She was truly dismayed; she wondered if the boss was some kind of freak.

"Is Junior Sister being made things difficult for her?"

"They must be feeling sorry for their hopelessly ugly handwriting."

Ye Xiruo's calligraphy is indeed appalling. When she was little, her grandfather made her practice calligraphy, but she could never concentrate; she just wanted to go out and play. In the end, she would whine and act spoiled, or go to her grandmother's house and act cute.

Oh well, please bear with me, examiner. Ye Xiruo covered her face and handed in her paper.

"Junior Sister, you must make it to the second round, otherwise you won't get a prize," Zishu said, pouring cold water on the idea a hundred years ago.

"I believe Xiaoyezi can continue."

Half an hour later, the results of the first round came out, and a whopping two hundred people were eliminated. That elimination rate is really something.

Ye Xiruo stood on the high platform again, still in a relatively far back position.

"Congratulations to all the alchemists for passing the first round. Each of you will receive ten mid-grade spirit stones."

"Tch." Ye Xiruo rolled her eyes. She had been so thoroughly humiliated, and all she got was a mid-grade spirit stone. It wasn't even enough to compensate for her mental distress.

"What are the prizes for the second round? Is it too late for me to withdraw from the competition?" Ye Xiruo asked directly.

"The prize for the second round is a grade-five spiritual medicine."

Ye Xiruo was about to jump down and withdraw from the competition. This boss was definitely a swindler. It was only a fifth-grade spiritual medicine. It wasn't worth her working herself to death.

"Little Yezi, keep it up." Suddenly receiving Xiu Qiyu's telepathic message, she pulled back the foot she had already stepped out.

It seems the people participating here aren't after the prizes, but rather fame. Ye Xiruo suddenly realized something; she didn't want to be famous, so she'd better keep a low profile for now!

"The second round of the competition is to identify medicinal herbs. Each person has a pile of medicinal herbs in front of them and must pick out the herbs listed in the list within a specified time. Only those who succeed can advance."

With so many herbs, this is practically advertising for Baicaotang! Ye Xiruo couldn't help but give the owner a thumbs up.

Picking up the list, Ye Xiruo glanced at it, released her spiritual power to get a general sense of it, and then took action.

It wasn't particularly difficult, but to keep a low profile, I deliberately slowed down and finished almost at the last minute.

"Junior Sister is really cunning and sly."

"Young Master Bai of Baicaotang isn't doing this to be a nice guy; he's trying to win over talented alchemists to serve the Bai family. Doesn't the Pill King Palace care?"

Zishu shrugged: "The Bai family is one of the affiliated families of the Pill King Palace, so their interests are somewhat aligned. If the Pill King Palace gets all the meat, and they're not even allowed to drink the soup, what do you think will happen?"

Xiu Qiyu nodded, indicating that she understood.

The results of the second match were quickly announced, and Ye Xiruo spoke up again: "What is the prize for the third round?"

"It's hard to say whether you can even make it to the third round. You're already thinking about the prize for the third round. Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue in the wind?"

The one speaking was the alchemist next to Ye Xiruo, whose nostrils flared upwards and whose eyes were filled with disdain as he looked at Ye Xiruo. He had probably just seen Ye Xiruo's appallingly poor results.

"What business is it of yours whether I make it past the third round or not?" Damn it, I finally wanted to keep a low profile, but I still can't!

"Since you think you can pass, why don't we make a bet and see who gets a better score?"

"Hmph, the bet." Ye Xiruo directly tossed out a seventh-grade spiritual herb.